A known deflector apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed in DE19603670 (hereinafter referred to as Reference 1), for example. The deflector apparatus (wind deflector) disclosed in Reference 1 is mounted at a front edge of a roof opening formed at a vehicle roof. In a case where a movable panel in a sliding roof system for opening and closing the roof opening is opened, the deflector apparatus is raised above the vehicle roof. The deflector apparatus includes a fixed frame extending along the front edge of the roof opening and fixed to a mounting frame extending along the front edge of the roof opening. The deflector apparatus further includes a movable frame rotatably connected to the fixed frame via a pivot device so as to be movable between a retracted position and a raised position. The movable frame is biased into the raised position by a resilient member. Further, a flexible textile or plastics sheet having flexibility and air-permeable properties is disposed between the fixed frame and the movable frame. The flexible textile is stretched when the movable frame is transferred into the raised position so as to be raised above the vehicle roof together with the movable panel. The flexible textile decreases an aerial vibration (i.e., a wind throb) generated when wind enters the roof opening of the vehicle roof.
The vehicle roof may be formed with a drain portion for discharging water along the front edge of the roof opening. In a case where the drain portion and the deflector apparatus are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle as in Reference 1, a space for the roof opening at the vehicle roof may be reduced within a predetermined space of the sliding roof system in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
A need thus exists for a deflector apparatus for a vehicle which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.